Abstract
Breast cancer in women is a major public health problem throughout the world. It is the most common cancer among women both in developed and developing countries. One in ten of all new cancers diagnosed worldwide each year is a cancer of the female breast. It is also the principal cause of death from cancer among women globally. More than 1.1 million cases are diagnosed and more than 410,000 patients die of it worldwide (Ferlay et al. 2004). It is the second most common cancer now, after lung cancer, when ranked by cancer occurrence in both sexes. About 55% of the global burden is currently experienced in developed countries, but incidence rates are rapidly rising in developing countries. We review the global burden of breast cancer, focusing on patterns of disease in terms of incidence and mortality and their geographical and temporal variations in different regions of the world. We also discuss briefly the sources and methods of estimation, validity and completeness of available data, and possible explanations for the observed patterns of incidence and mortality.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Armstrong BK (1992) The role of the cancer registry in cancer control. Cancer Causes Control 3:569–579
Armstrong W, Borman B (1996) Breast cancer in New Zealand: trends, patterns, and data quality. N Z Med J 109:221–224
Barry DA, Cronin KA, Plevritis SK et al (2005) Effect of screening and adjuvant therapy on mortality from breast cancer. New Engl J Med 353:1784–1792
Botha JL, Bray F, Sankila R, Parkin DM (2003) Breast cancer incidence and mortality trends in 16 European countries. Eur J Cancer 39:1718–1729
Bray F, McCarron P, Parkin DM (2004) The changing global patterns of female breast cancer incidence and mortality. Br Cancer Res 6:229–239
Chia KS, Du WB, Sankaranarayanan R et al (2001) Population-based cancer survival in Singapore, 1968 to 1992: an overview. Int J Cancer 93:142–147
Chie WC, Chen CF, Lee WC, Chen CJ, Lin RS (1995) Age-period-cohort analysis of breast cancer mortality. Anticancer Res 15:511–515
Chokunonga E, Levy LM, Bassett MT, Mauchaza BG, Thomas DB, Parkin DM (2000) Cancer incidence in the African population of Harare, Zimbabwe: second results from the cancer registry 1993–1995. Int J Cancer 85:54–59
Coleman MP, Esteve J, Damiecki P, Arslan A, Renard H (1993) Trends in cancer incidence and mortality. IARC, Lyon
Cuzick J (2003) Aromatase inhibitors in prevention – data from the ATAC (arimidex, tamoxifen alone or in combination) trial and the design of IBIS-II (the second International Breast Cancer Intervention Study). Recent Results Cancer Res 163:96–103
Echimane AK, Ahnoux AA, Adoubi I, Hien S, M‘Bra K, D‘Horpock A, Diomande M, Anongba D, Mensah-Adoh I, Parkin DM (2000) Cancer incidence in Abidjan, Ivory Coast: first results from the cancer registry, 1995–1997. Cancer 89:653–663
Ferlay J, Bray F, Pisani P, Parkin DM (2004) GLOBOCAN 2002. Cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence worldwide. IARC Cancer Base No. 5 Version 2.0. IARC Press, Lyon
Giles GG, Amos A (2003) Evaluation of the organised mammographic screening programme in Australia. Ann Oncol 14:1209–1211
Gondos A, Brenner H, Wabinga H et al (2005) Cancer survival in Kampala, Uganda. Br J Cancer 92:1808–1812
Gondos A, Chokunonga E, Brenner H et al (2004) Cancer survival in a Southern African urban population. Int J Cancer 112:860–864
Henderson BE, Ross R, Bernstein L (1988) Estrogens as a cause of human cancer: the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award Lecture. Cancer Res 48:246–253
Hermon C, Beral V (1996) Breast cancer mortality rates are levelling off or beginning to decline in many western countries: analysis of time trends, age-cohort and age-period models of breast cancer mortality in 20 countries. Br J Cancer 73:955–960
Héry C, Ferlay J, Boniol M, Autier P (2008a Jun) Quantification of changes in breast cancer incidence and mortality since 1990 in 35 countries with Caucasian-majority populations. Ann Oncol 19(6):1187–1194
Héry C, Ferlay J, Boniol M, Autier P (2008b May) Changes in breast cancer incidence and mortality in middle-aged and elderly women in 28 countries with Caucasian majority populations. Ann Oncol 19(5):1009–1018
Holford TR, Roush GC, McKay LA (1991) Trends in female breast cancer in Connecticut and the United States. J Clin Epidemiol 44:29–39
IARC Working group on the Evaluation of Cancer Preventive Strategies (2002) Breast cancer screening. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, vol 7. IARC Press, Lyon
Jemal A, Ward E, Thun J (2007) Recent trends in breast cancer incidence rates by age and tumor characteristics among U.S. women. Br Cancer Res 9:R28
Lacey JV Jr, Devesa SS, Brinton LA (2002) Recent trends in breast cancer incidence and mortality. Environ Mol Mutagen 39:82–88
Leung GM, Thach TQ, Lam TH, Hedley AJ, Foo W, Fielding R, Yip PS, Lau EM, Wong CM (2002) Trends in breast cancer incidence in Hong Kong between 1973 and 1999: an age-period-cohort analysis. Br J Cancer 87:982–988
Moolgavkar SH, Stevens RG, Lee JA (1979) Effect of age on incidence of breast cancer in females. J Natl Cancer Inst 62:493–501
Nab HW, Mulder PG, Crommelin MA, van der Heijden LH, Coebergh JW (1994) Is the peak in breast cancer incidence in sight? A study conducted in the southeastern Netherlands. Eur J Cancer 30A:50–52
Nagata C, Kawakami N, Shimizu H (1997) Trends in the incidence rate and risk factors for breast cancer in Japan. Br Cancer Res Treat 44:75–82
National Cancer Institute of Canada (1998) Canadian Cancer Statistics 1998 National Cancer Institute of Canada
Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P (2005) Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin 55:74–108
Parkin DM, Fernandez L (2006) Use of global statistics to assess the global burden of breast cancer. Br J 12S1:S70–S80
Parkin DM, Pisani P, Ferlay J (1999) Estimates of the worldwide incidence of twenty-five major cancers in 1990. Int J Cancer 80:827–841
Parkin DM (1994) Cancer in developing countries. Cancer Surveys 19/20:519–561
Parkin DM (2006a) The evolution of the population-based cancer registry. Nat Rev Cancer 6:603–612
Parkin DM, Whelan SL, Ferlay J, Storm H (2005) Cancer incidence in five continents, vol I to VIII. IARC Cancer Base No. 7, Lyon
Parkin DM, Ferlay J, Hamdi-Cherif M, Sitas F, Thomas JO, Wabinga H, Whelan SL (2003) Cancer in Africa: epidemiology and prevention. IARC, Lyon
Peto R (1998) Mortality from breast cancer in UK has decreased suddenly. BMJ 317:476–477
Pisani P, Bray F, Parkin DM (2002) Estimates of the worldwide prevalence of cancer for 25 sites in the adult population. Int J Cancer 97:72–81
Pisani P, Parkin DM, Bray Fl, Ferlay J (1999) Estimates of the worldwide mortality from twentyfive major cancers in 1990. Implications for prevention, and projections of future burden. Int J Cancer 83:18–29
Ries LAG, Eisner MP, Kosary CL, et al. (eds) (2004) SEER cancer statistics review, 1975–2001. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD. Available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2001/
Sankaranarayanan R, Black RJ, Parkin DM (eds) (1988) Cancer survival in developing countries, IARC Scientific Publications No. 15. IARC Press, Lyon.
Sankaranarayanan R, Swaminathan R, Black RJ (1996) Global variations in cancer survival. Cancer 78:2461–2464
Seow A, Duffy SW, McGee MA, Lee J, Lee HP (1996) Breast cancer in Singapore: trends in incidence 1968–1992. Int J Epidemiol 25:40–45
Smigel K (1995) Breast cancer death rates decline for white women [news]. J Natl Cancer Inst 87:173
Smith CL, Kricker A, Armstrong BK (1998) Breast cancer mortality trends in Australia: 1921 to 1994. Med J Aust 168:11–14
Tarone RE, Chu KC, Gaudette LA (1997) Birth cohort and calendar period trends in breast cancer mortality in the United States and Canada. J Natl Cancer Inst 89:251–256
The EUROCARE Working Group (2003) EUROCARE-3: survival of cancer patients diagnosed 1990–94 – results and commentary. Ann Oncol 14:v61–v118
Wabinga HR, Parkin DM, Wabwire-Mangen F, Nambooze S (2000) Trends in cancer incidence in Kyadondo County, Uganda, 1960–1997. Br J Cancer 82:1585–1592
Wakai K, Suzuki S, Ohno Y, Kawamura T, Tamakoshi A, Aoki R (1995) Epidemiology of breast cancer in Japan. Int J Epidemiol 24:285–291
Walter SD, Day NE (1983) Estimation of the duration of a pre-clinical disease state using screening data. Am J Epidemiol 118:865–886
Weir HK, Thun MJ, Hankey BF, Ries LA, Howe HL, Wingo PA, Jemal A, Ward E, Anderson RN, Edwards BK (2003) Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1975–2000, featuring the uses of surveillance data for cancer prevention and control. J Natl Cancer Inst 95:1276–1299
Wun LM, Feuer EJ, Miller BA (1995) Are increases in mammographic screening still a valid explanation for trends in breast cancer incidence in the United States? Cancer Causes Control 6:135–144
Yang L, Parkin DM, Li L, Chen Y (2003) Time trends in cancer mortality in China: 1987–1999. Int J Cancer 106:771–783. doi: 10.1002/ijc.11300
Yeole BB, Kurkure AP (2003) An epidemiological assessment of increasing incidence and trends in breast cancer in Mumbai and other sites in India, during the last two decades. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 4:51–56
Zaridze DG, Basieva TH (1990) Incidence of cancer of the lung, stomach, breast, and cervix in the USSR: pattern and trends. Cancer Causes Control 1:39–40
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ferlay, J., Héry, C., Autier, P., Sankaranarayanan, R. (2010). Global Burden of Breast Cancer. In: Li, C. (eds) Breast Cancer Epidemiology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0685-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0685-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0684-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0685-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)